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‘The Landscape of Guitar’ art exhibit to be held at the Ramsdell

Posted by MNA Staff on September 5th, 2019

Bruce Hecksel is the artist behind the gallery, The Landscape of Guitar, which will be on display at the Ramsdell. (Courtesy Photo)

MANISTEE — The Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts (RRCA) will host a special exhibit of Bruce Hecksel’s original paintings, The Landscape of Guitar, on display in Hardy Hall from Sept. 17 through Oct. 25.

Join Bruce Hecksel and Julie Patchouli — Patchouli and Terra Guitarra — for an opening gallery reception of Hecksel’s paintings from 6-8 p.m. on Sept. 17. The Ramsdell invites the public to come see the art at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 25., for a final viewing.

Tickets are on sale now. Both events take place at 101 Maple St. in Manistee.

Every element in Hecksel’s artwork is guitar-themed, in these glittering, stained glass-like and acrylic paintings. These original pieces of art are the base upon which the Landscape of the Guitar animated show was created. To learn more visit, www.terraguitarra.com/art.

For award winning musician, composer, painter, photographer, muralist and international recording artist Hecksel, painting began very early and developed with intensive study even in his teens, where he began experimenting with abstracted compositions and blacklines. Throughout college and graduate studies in theology, music and symbolism his work continued to utilize symbol and color as the primary components.

“By symbolizing the landscape and the world as guitar shapes, I am illuminating the music, the positive vibrations within everything. From this perspective I consider the vibrational nature of reality and the power of positive perception to see the world in a deeper way,” Hecksel said.

Hecksel is a recording artist with 24 albums to his credit including “Best Instrumental Album of the Year” awarded for 2017, “Of Seas and Stars,” and over 4,500 performances with 1 million miles touring. The popularity of his art has blossomed and merged with the music to include the animated painting concert experience, The Landscape of Guitar, where he has animated his original Terra Guitarra pieces to be projected while performing the music.

In addition to the Terra Guitarra series, another theme has emerged featuring the heart shape called “Love This,” which also features a prominent positive symbol repeated throughout the composition.

“In ‘Love This,’ I wish to inspire the viewer to visualize a world viewed with an open heart and through the eyes of love and compassion,” he said. “We all share one light and come from one creative source and so looking at each other and at the world in this way we are celebrating our unity and our infinity instead of our differentness and our mortality.”

Hecksel’s style and technique is pop art meets abstract, impressionism and expressionism; thickly textured acrylic paint applied in a stippling, palette knifing and brush loading style. Then, finished with gloss lacquer to preserve brightness, contrast and the overall effect of which causes it to resemble thick oil painting. Find more information on the art exhibit at RamsdellTheatre.org/art-exhibits/.